Frogged (recycled) Yarn Swap #1

It Fall -, the Junk/Thrift/second hand shops are starting to carry sweaters, that means its time to officially recycled yarn season. I visited one of my favorite thrift stores this past weekend and discovered that they have started stocking sweaters for fall/winter.

Not only are there tons of wonderful wool and cotton yarns that are out of style and just begging to become balls of yarn, but there are also those rare cashmere, angora, silk and mohair finds that save you tons of cash for just a little effort.

For those who don’t know the process of unraveling a sweater is commonly called "frogging" because of course for a knitter a frog says “Rip it.�

Even if you've never dismantled a sweater before, don't be afraid, its easier than you think. Post any questions, and I (or hopefully others) will help. The important thing to look for, beyond the kind of yarn (no sense frogging acrylic), is that it has the right kind of seams. You are looking for seams that look like a double crochet. Zigzag stitching, seams reinforced with cloth, or things that look like cut yarn on the seams are almost always a bad sign and not worth the risk. If you’ve ever put together a sweater, you probably know what to look for. If you’ve never taken apart a sweater see the tutorial here, it’s really pretty decent beginner instructions. http://www.neauveau.com/recycledyarn.html Only, use small scissors or a seam ripper to cut the seam - big sicissors are asking for trouble.

Please only do this if you're willing to scout for nice yarn (i.e. natural fiber), and take the time to take it apart, it is no fun if someone spends 6 hours taking a sweater apart to send and then not get anything in return.

When you send your yarn please make sure that you either wrap it into balls, or form a proper twisted skein. Also, include the wash/care tags, and the tags with the description of what it is made of.

You must have 4.5 rating to join. If you have 1's I also require an email/pm explaining the situation and indication that you have communicated with the person who rated you to rectify the situation. Newbies are welcome, but I require a brief email and I will be limiting the total number of newbies if there are way too many. This swap in going to be US only, because those winter sweaters can be bulky. Don't flake, have fun.